Black Couples Therapy
Black Couples Therapy
Erica Holmes , Antioch University, Los Angeles
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Most research and couple therapy modalities tend to be normed on white European American couples and fail to include research on Black couples. This volume fills a void in the theory, research, and practice of couples therapy where clinicians have historically not been specifically trained to provide culturally responsive care when addressing the unique experiences and needs of Black couples. It aims to provide students, researchers, and allied mental health professionals with greater awareness, knowledge, and competency in working with Black couples. It assists therapists in developing a working alliance with Black couples and places an emphasis on cultivating environments that are instrumental to decreasing relationship distress and disconnection. Black Couples Therapy provides a comprehensive overview of the research and theory behind race and collective identity as well as romantic coupling, illustrated by examples of practice.
- Provides examples of transdisciplinary science in action and demonstrates how multiple disciplines can be integrated
- Makes research, theory, and practice accessible to readers
- Fills a void in literature on couples therapy with Black couples, enabling clinicians to provide culturally responsive care and clinical interventions that inform treatment approaches
Reviews & endorsements
‘This wonderful ground-breaking book charts new territory in the treatment of Black couples. It is one of the first books to explore therapy with heterosexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender Black couples in one volume. An inspirational text for both experienced and new therapists, it provides special strategies for addressing the impact of racism on Black relationships. This book is also an outstanding resource for all courses on diversity, and couple and family therapy.’ Nancy Boyd-Franklin, Rutgers University, New Jersey, and author of Black Families in Therapy: Understanding the African American Experience
‘This is a fascinating book that opens the door to the challenges and opportunities for treating Black couples. A must-read.’ John Gottman, author of The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, and Julie Schwartz Gottman, author of Ten Principles for Doing Effective Couples Therapy
‘In this much needed book, a very knowledgeable group of authors speak cogently to the special factors involved in the relationships of Black couples, and offer wise guidance about therapy with Black couples. Black Couples Therapy approaches these subjects through a breadth of lenses, including the impact of racism, gender, sexuality, and sexual orientation. Further, it includes chapters about working with Black couples in the context of several of the most widely practiced couple therapies. This is an exemplary book through which every therapist or therapist in training can learn more about the Black couple experience and couple therapy. It should be in every mental health professional’s library.’ Jay Lebow, Northwestern University, Illinois
Product details
August 2023Hardback
9781009205627
320 pages
234 × 156 × 25 mm
0.69kg
Available
Table of Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Contributors
- Foreword by Kenneth V. Hardy
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I. Race, Racism, and Identity:
- 1. Internalized Stereotypes and the Impact on Black Couples Cynthia Chestnut
- 2. The Role of the Strong Black Woman Schema in Black Love and Relationships Heather C. Lofton and Adia Gooden
- 3. Black Same-Gender-Loving Male Couples' Health within an Afrocentric Psychological Paradigm: The Influences of Spirituality and Religion Jonathan Mathias Lassiter
- Part II. Foundations for Healthy Coupling:
- 4. The Foundations for Strong and Healthy Relationships between Black Men and Women: Purposes, Practices, and Processes Daryl M. Rowe and Sandra Lyons Rowe
- 5. Considerations for Premarital Counseling and Education for Dating and Engaged Heterosexual African American Couples Erica Holmes, Ronecia Lark and Jessica M. Smedley
- Part III. Adapting Major Therapeutic Approaches for work with African American Couples:
- 6. Emotionally Focused Therapy with Black Couples Yamonte Cooper
- 7. Use of the Gottman Method with African American Couples Impacted by Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome Satira Streeter Corbitt
- 8. Transcending the Binary: A Narrative Therapy Approach to Work with Black Trans Men Navigating Gender Transition with Romantic Partners Moe A. Brown
- 9. Imago Therapy and the African American Couple Beverley Boothe
- 10. African American Narratives of Trauma: An EMDR Approach to Tapping into the Strengths of Black Love Alice Shepard and Katherine McKay
- Part IV. Sex and Intimacy:
- 11. Sexual Intimacy in Black Heterosexual Couple Relationships: Challenges and Opportunities toward Relational Intimacy Danielle Y. Drake and Daktari Shari R. Hicks
- 12. Intimacy, Desire, and Sex in the African American Relationships Jeshana Avent-Johnson
- 13. Wearing a Mask in Love: Implications for Covering and Infidelity in Black Relationships Laura Dupiton and Cynthia Chestnut
- Part V. Special Topics:
- 14. Weathering the Storm: Fertility and the Black Lesbian Experience Tenika L. Jackson
- 15. African American Men and Infertility: Biopsychosocial Considerations Brian R. Humphrey
- 16. Couples Therapy with Black American Couples Facing Medical Illness: Considerations for Treatment Lekeisha A. Sumner
- Index.
